Stand for UMass

UMass Amherst alumni constitute a network of extraordinary influence across the globe, with a concentration of tens of thousands of graduates in Massachusetts. In keeping with the university’s land-grant charter, those graduates have made a historically powerful contribution to the state’s innovation economy. On Friday, October 25, 2013, the entire Commonwealth will have the opportunity to celebrate the sesquicentennial of its flagship campus at Stand for UMass Day in Boston.

The celebration is a special opportunity for alumni in Boston, as well as government and industry leaders, friends and supporters, to experience a day of spirit in the state’s capital focused on the incredible talents of the campus’s bright, bold student musicians.

The day’s theme of music will begin as The Power and Class of New England, the Minuteman Marching Band, marches up Beacon Street to assemble on the State House steps. Then a special cake-cutting ceremony will take place on the Grand Staircase, with honored guest Secretary of Education Matthew H. Malone as well as alumni legislators and key Massachusetts leaders.

The marching band will continue its progressive performance by parading down the streets of Boston to Faneuil Hall for a lunchtime concert featuring free UMass birthday cupcakes.

That evening, Boston Symphony Hall will feature “Stand for UMass: The Concert”: a multibands musical event of the Minuteman Marching Band, the university wind ensemble, orchestra, jazz ensemble, and chamber choir.

In addition to celebrating the contribution UMass Amherst has made to the quality of life in the Commonwealth through public higher education, Stand for UMass Day also looks forward to the support the university will be for the state’s sustainable future.

“I am looking forward to seeing the pride of the UMass community at these events in Boston,” says Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy. “This day celebrates our 150 years of history and looks forward to our future.”

Stand for UMass Day in Boston is a chance for the campus to engage many different people in different ways, to bring attention to the campus from the Commonwealth’s capital, and to build spirit and pride in alumni. All friends of the university are encouraged to wear maroon and take it to the streets for what promises to be a rousing celebration!